Dark Hope
by haileygrl
Summary: Rose returns home to experience the loss of her fellow classmates when an attack on St. Vlad's occurs. She will travel the distance with Dimitri and the rest of the gang to uncover secrets of the past as well as a whole new world of Strigio. Enjoy! :
1. Home Sweet Home

**AN: Dark Hope is a Vampire Academy extension story written and edited by haileygrl (lauren hailey). It was posted for pure entertainment and nothing more. Without further ado, here is Dark Hope chapter1 Enjoy X3**

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**Chapter 1: Home Sweet Home**

Rose POV:

The plane cabin was large and its color reminded me of a hospital's sterile white shade. I let out an exasperated sigh and leaned back in the wide chair hitting Guardian Ross again for the fifth time that day. The rounded table next to me was piled with _People, OK!, Us, _and _Weekly _magazines. There were also soda cans, water bottles, crumpled napkins, and empty bags of Cheetos and Funyuns. The cabin stewardess came around again and placed a new can of Diet Coke on the table. She took the crumpled up napkins and tossed them into the wastebasket. I smiled to myself and lifted u my sunglasses. I looked around and stood up. I took in my surroundings.

Lissa was asleep on Charlie (another Guardian for Lissa) and he was reading _Of Mice and Men_. Tate (Guardian) was sitting in the back, with her feet propped up on the table in front of her. Mercy, our personal trainer, was sprawled out over the entire row, a bottle of beer hanging loosely in her hand. Damien, our tutor, was passed out next to me. Before I had fallen asleep, I'd noticed he was correcting some of my assignments.

Damien stirred and pushed up his glasses. He noticed I wasn't sitting anymore, and he shot up out of his seat. The top of his head slammed into the low ceiling.

"Shit! Err… I mean, well, don't let them know I said that around you Miss Hathaway." Damien stammered. I looked up at him. He was tall, but not like Dimitri. _Dimitri… my Dimitri. And I get to see him! Tonight!_

"Damien, please! I'm practically an old lady now! You can say 'shit' around me. People said that to me before I was even 11." Damien nodded and sat back down. "What time is it?" he whispered. I shook my head, "I don't know. Looks like we have another two hours before we land at Court."

~2hours later~

Lissa POV:

I jumped off the plane and skipped down the walk-way, throwing myself at Christian. He hugged me tight against his chest and we stayed like that for a little while. Dimitri chuckled behind us.

"Sorry, Rose is still asleep. But don't worry, they won't let her for long." Just as I finished my sentence, Rose's scream echoed around the entire court. She practically flew down the walk-way dripping wet. Her body was covered in the ice-cold water Mercy and Damien poured on her. "You little ass! Damien planned it right? Why didn't you tell me?" She demanded.

Dimitri sighed at the sight of Rose. Two years was too long from his girlfriend. I could tell that even Rose was excited, even though she was extremely pissed. She ran into Dimitri's arms. I felt like it was the end of a romantic movie, when the girl ended up with her true love. Even Christian was smiling. I guess he was pleased to have Dimitri so happy again.

Adrian groaned and stumbled over to us, alcohol in hand. "Well, the lovebirds re-united at last! Lucky bastard." He mumbled something else, but I doubt anyone understood. We were a family again. Everyone was home. Christian, wit his smile still in place gave me another squeeze and said aloud, "Well, let's all settle down. Would you like to come over for dinner?" We nodded and Damien, Charlie, and a few of the others exited the plane.

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**AN: So, this chapter was originally supposed to go on, but I'm extremely tired. Tomorrow I have to get up and perform a musical with my friends in front of the entire school. Yay! I'll update soon! Hope you enjoyed X3**

**PS: If this comes out all indented weird it's because my computer's being an ass. D: NO BUENO! Well, looks like it didn't yay! **


	2. Home Sweet Home part 2

**AN: Okay, Chapter 2 really is a continuation of Chapter 1. I hope you enjoy this Chapter! X3**

**Chapter 2:**

(Rose POV)

Lissa and I walked up the long elegant staircase to my dorm room. Lissa burst into the room and ran to the closet. "Rose! Look, I'm gonna wear this dress." She yanked out a knee-high sparkly, sleeveless white dress. She also took out a black thigh-length dress and pushed it onto me. "Oh, Rose! That is so super pretty! War this please! I'll do your hair and make-up!" Lissa squealed again. I nodded numbly. I grabbed a few items (toothbrush/paste, a brush, towel, shampoo, and conditioner) from my bag and started walking down to the bathrooms.

Ignoring the sudden pain in my chest, I scrubbed shampoo throughout my long hair. It was long, thick, and silky. When I finished my shower, I grabbed the towel and quickly dried myself in the empty shower stall. I brushed my teeth and quickly brushed my hair back into a ponytail.

I walked back to the room and carefully put on the dress. It was made out of some silky-smooth material, and I had to admit I liked the feel. Lissa came by later (after her own shower) for her dress, which sat on a bare and desolate looking armchair.

"ROSE! Oh, my lovely Rose, hurry up! Christian decided that dinner's in fifteen minutes!" Lissa called. "Liar! You just want to make out with him!" I hollered back and I heard her giggle. She ran at me and dragged me into the bathroom to do my hair and make-up.

(about an hour of torture has passed by)

"You so lied." I muttered when we arrived later. She pushed me through Christian's door, so she could snuggle before more guests came. I quietly took a seat on the couch. Dimitri walked over and sat down next to me. "I thought I heard someone come in. Are you alright? You look extremely pale." His concern made me want to swoon, but I had to keep cool and prove that no one could ever affect the new and improved Rose. _I'm such a liar… _"Yeah I'm great. And you?" My attempt at small talk sucked ass. He chuckled to himself. "Roza, Roza, Roza… I'm _more _than fine, especially now that you're here, in my arms." I looked over at his face. "What do you mean? I'm not even in your arms-" My lips were taken by his. He slid me onto his lap we continued our kiss. And continued. And continued. We stayed in this blissful moment, until the doorbell rang.

Adrian came in and pushed Dimitri and I apart. He sat right between us. Adrian smelled of heavy alcohol.

"Okay, Christian finished dinner! Come on, Rose! Help set the table. Adrian? Why the hell do you reek of alcohol?" Adrian groaned and stumbled off towards the bathroom. I ran off to the kitchen_, the faster I get this done the sooner I'll be in Dimitri's arms! _Dimitri followed me though. And Lissa was smiling her ass off.

"What? Is there a 'Kick Me' sign on my back?" Lissa just giggled and then ran off. She started yapping, but I couldn't hear a thing. Dimitri chuckled to himself and when I tried to ask, he shook his head and began to place the plates in the correct spots. I left the silverware on the table and took the plates out of his hands, putting them next to the abandoned silverware. Then, I grabbed his arms and knocked him into the back corner; I just stared at him, then opened my mouth, "Dimitri, I've been gone for two years. Two whole years without seeing you or being with _you. _I want you to tell me, please!"

Dimitri looked tortured. I knew he didn't want me to know, but I wanted to, no _had _to, know. "Dimtri, please… I want you to trust me! Tell me!" I begged. And finally he nodded.

"Roza, please. Tonight Roza. I will. Give me now, and I'll let you have tonight. I _need _you to wait." I kissed and thanked him reluctantly. He smiled, but I knew I made him nervous.

As dinner progressed, Dimitri began to calm himself. He seemed excited, especially when Abe and Janine came over. Abe actually smiled at Dimitri, even though he had once threatened to shoot him with a gun. Even my mom was in on it. After awhile, I began to realize everyone (except Adrian) was in on this little secret.

Cleaning up dinner was not fun. I had to work! WORK! _Damn you Lissa _I figured she did this because the world was against me, till Christian decided to walk in. Big mistake.

"Hey Sparkles," I called, "Why don't you help me out?" He looked at me and sighed.

"You aren't going to work anyways. And you know I hate it when you call me Sparky." I grinned.

"I didn't call you Sparky. I called you Sparkles. And I do it _because _you hate it." Christian muttered a 'Figures' under his breath. While he worked on the counters, I watched him from the table.

We walked out of the kitchen smiling. Christian had suds all over his shirt and soap bubbles were all in my hair. "Lissa! Your boyfriend attacked with soap!" We started laughing for no reason. Everyone sat on the couch to catch up with each other. Lissa and Christian were snuggling, Tate and Charlie were standing beside each other with their 'guardian masks' in place, Damien was sleeping, Adrian was gulping down more alcohol, and Mercy was busy giving Dimitri the death glare.

"Why is she glaring at me?" Dimitri whispered in my ear. I smiled inwardly, "I don't know. She doesn't like new people all that well." We looked back at Mercy and she had directed her stare at Adrian. Mercy looked thoroughly disgusted.

"What the hell are you doing? Aren't you a Royal? Shouldn't you be working on World Peace for the children? And give me that!" She yanked the half empty bottle out of his hand and flung it out into the air. Before I could grip the bottle, it tumbled out of my hand and into Dimitri's. _Nice save!_

"You are not going to keep up this, I'm so cool act. Rose can tell you that I've sharpened up the lives of many before you. And they put up a fight, a fight they always lost." I was at loss for words. _Yeah, Adrian had a problem and yeah, he should get it taken care of but that's his way of dealing with the side-effects of Darkness. _She went into the kitchen and had come out, plopping a cold bottle of water in his hand. "Drink," she commanded, as if he were a dog. And we stared at Adrian. We all felt a little bad.

I left with Dimitri narrowly escaping a one-on-one lecture about how drinking could ruin your life. Dimitri let me lead him to the dorms I was going to be staying at, and while we walked we stared up at the never ending black sky above us flecked with brilliant golden stars. Dimitri wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me against him gently, and with no warning whatsoever, he started to drag me into the East dormitory area. We passed them by and then we passed the exclusive Guardian dorms. _Where the hell is he taking me? _

About 20 minutes later, we were in the forest surrounding Court. We kept walking and I was about to start complaining, when we walked straight up to a cabin. Memories of "OUR" cabin back at St. Vlad's flooded my mind. I gave Dimitri a questioning look, but he shook his head and smiled.

He opened the big wooden door and ushered me inside. It was much larger than it had looked from the outside. There was a cute, small kitchen and a living room with a couch and a flat-screen. A table set for two and a single bathroom. But what drew my eyes, was a little door that had been closed. _It must lead to the bedroom. _And it did.

He wrapped me in his arms and walked me over to the door. I opened it slightly and he picked me up to plop me in the middle of the large bed. He stared down at me and I stared right back up at him. Dimitri made the first move. He carefully moved a lock of my hair and kissed my forehead. For some reason, he wanted to talk. And we did, until I finally shut him up with my lips.

"Roza, you don't know what you do to me…" I smiled, "Comrade, I love you…"

And I drifted off to sleep in the warmth of his arms. It was great to be home at last.

**AN: Hey, this chapter was written 01/25/11. It was revised today and edited. It was cut down into two different chapters and then typed up at two separate times. So, excited on what you guys think! Read the VA: Chatrooms please! It isn't half bad! Kind of… Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading! Review please! Feedback is wanted and desperately craved! X3**


	3. Our Time Away

**AN: Ugh… so tired. So, I haven't updated this story in forever and because it's finally summer, I'm going to try to make more of an effort to get this nonsense done! I mean, I already started ten different stories and I need to focus on the ones I have here or else I'll never get them done… So, yes. This is my plan, slave away on this project then go on to another… It's a nice idea; let's see if it works out! :D**

**PS: I had updated Vampire Academy: Chatrooms and this morning, it was gone. So… I think that's the end of that story… But it makes me wonder… are they going to take them all down? Because there are a few that I really like! I'm hoping they don't take them all down… :C **

(Rose POV)

I woke up to find myself all alone in the bed. I wanted to yell out to Dimitri and tell him he had five seconds to get his sexy Russian ass back here or I'd skin, but decided against it. There was the scent of savory bacon, yummy eggs, and mouthwatering pancakes!

"Comrade, you making me breakfast?" He turned and smiled to me, "Of course, Roza." I moved closer to him to get a good morning kiss and found myself pressed between his chest and the counter. He stole a kiss and my breath. We parted for a few seconds before I leaned in again, but instead of taking his lips with my own; I snagged a piece of bacon and ran to the sofa where he tackled me. His soft lips clamed mine in a passionate sweep and then his hands began to caress me in the best of ways.

I giggled as his warm hands began to make their way down my sides while his lips slowly followed south. By the time he got down to my grey tank, I had goose bumps from his sweet tender kisses. Dimitri's finger hooked onto my black boy shorts, gradually dragging them down. Before he could remove them completely, I pushed him back and pranced away with my man eater smile in place. I looked back to see him smile mischievously at me before knocking me down and taking exactly what he wanted from me.

We reluctantly parted a short while after due to our breakfast trying to burn down the cabin; to say this was a letdown was an understatement…. After the near disaster was avoided and the burnt food was safely in the trash can, Dimitri took it upon himself to join me in the shower to continue our fun. I guess you could say we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly…

-x-

(Lissa POV)

"Agh! Where the heck is Rose? I am in need of her opinion!" My guardian, Tate, looked at me like I was some sort of irrational woman, which at the moment, I was. She opened her mouth, but I put a stop to it with a sideways glance. I knew that she was going to lecture me again about how to act like a proper Queen and how to react in situations where Rose was not present. She was right about one thing though; Rose would be otherwise preoccupied with Guardian Belikov once we touched down at Court...

I felt myself subconsciously trying to reach out to her through the bond, but it no longer existed. This was something that I usually found myself doing whenever Rose went anywhere without me. In truth, it was pathetic of me to keep relying on her like that and even a bit selfish for wanting Rose to go through the bond experience again to get it back.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tate press her earpiece and whisper to someone over the line to get Rose for me. I smiled inwardly. Tate always looked out for Rose and me. I felt as though she saw us as family. Charlie, my other guardian and Tate's boyfriend, smiled at the both of us. Polar opposites do attract… He was calm, relaxed, laid back, and open minded whereas Tate was tense, worried, brooding, angry, intense, and on occasion terrifying.

There were three distinct knocks on the door that belonged to my partner in crime. Charlie opened the door to a peeved Rose, an amused Dimitri, and a still drunken Adrian. Christian, who had been silently lounging on the loveseat till now, laughed at Rose's expression.

"I'm guessing our dear Queen interrupted something, didn't she?" Rose growled in response. She studied me for a second than nodded to herself.

"Lissa put those shoes back in their box and go get me that black dress."

"The one from Forever21?"

"Yes and then get the black stilettos, the silver bangles, and the chain necklace I got you for your birthday… and then get that stupid wallet with the pink bow…?" I nodded to her and collected all she asked. Tate helped me after I had gotten into the outfit. She fixed my hair just the way I liked it, and Rose put my favorite sparkly silver headband on me. I looked over my shoulder to see Rose dressed in a simple grey knit tank and ankle length black leggings with a pair of torn grey converse. She made me feel overdressed…

"Hey, Lissa forgot to mention that we're eating out tonight! Tate picked the place and I checked the reviews; it looks amazing!" Charlie's smile was contagious as he showed much enthusiasm in the restaurant. Everyone looked pleased to find out that they didn't have to prepare dinner. We quickly decided who was riding with whom. When we were finally done with the arrangements, Dimitri ushered us towards the cars.

In the first car were Dimitri, Rose, Christian, Tate, Charlie, and I; in the second were Adrian, Eddie, Mercy, Damien, Abe and Janine. It took forever to pick where everyone would go because Rose had to put her two cents into everything, but finally Dimitri decided for us. It was really awkward trying to split him and Rose into different cars…

_Shellie's Shine'n Dine'n_

It was apparently an old time favorite if Tate's when she was a novice, so we checked it out and ate there. They had the biggest and messiest Sloppy Joes ever! When the waitress came for our drinks, everyone happily chimed what they had wanted, even Janine was smiling! I was so blessed to have everyone safe and happy that nothing really seemed out of place. The waitress came back three minutes later with the refreshments.

"Alright, I have four waters, two ice teas, two lemonades, and three of our fruity margaritas. Are you ready for me to take your order, or do you need more time?" She passed the four waters to Rose, Dimitri, Tate, and Janine; the two ice teas to Mercy and Damien; two lemonades were passed to Charlie and Eddie; and the final three drinks (a fruity concoction of various citruses and sweet berries mixed with some strange alcohol) were passed out to Adrian, Christian, and I. I smiled lovingly at Rose, who glared at me with envy.

We ended up ordering random items off the menu not really paying much attention to our waitress. Eddie had the funniest story on Stan and Rose could not give up on Alberta flirting with one of the passing by guardians.

"I'm telling you, she was eyeing him like I eye bacon! I swear she was drooling over the poor guy!" Eddie cracked up.

"Yeah, like you swore to me that you and Mason weren't going to douse me in holy water from the church and light me on fire? You were trying to KILL me!"

"Whatever… Mason and I thought that because you had no soul, you'd die on contact with the holy water!"

"Gingers have no souls! Its gingers have no souls! If you tried that on Mason, he would have disintegrated!" It was the greatest thing to know that Eddie and Rose were alright to talk about Mason. After his death there were some pretty hard times for the both of them, but now they're healed and ready to take on the world.

-x-

(Rose POV)

I was having a blast retelling stories of our novice days. I mean, c'mon! Yes, I would forever miss being the naïve girl who thought she could fend off an entire swarm of Strigio, but now? I actually can fend off and DESTROY an entire army of Strigio.

Eddie was finishing retelling the story where he stole Stan Alto's boxers and hung them on the flagpole in front of the novice dorms, when Dimitri leaned over and whispered in my ear.

"Milaya, I have a surprise for you. My family is coming to visit you."

"Are you serious? When will they be here? How do you know? Can they get here any sooner?" Dimitri grinned at my excitement.

"They will arrive at Court tomorrow evening. They have had their tickets ready to come down for a while now, but they decided since you'll be here for break, it was the best time. Viktoria wanted to surprise you, so please act surprised to see them." I smiled at him. His hair was tied back, but a few rogue strands fluttered around his face. How could I not say yes to this man? He was absolutely perfect for me.

"Of course!" he chuckled and then gave me a small kiss before returning his attention to our friends. My face was surely flooded with joy and delight to know that Viktoria, the youngest sister that I left on the wrong foot, wanted to see me, surprise me even! I was smiling all through the meal.

When dessert finally arrived, I took the liberty in requesting everything on the menu that consisted of chocolate and charged it to Lissa's card. _Take that little Miss Queen! _Lissa's mouth was wide with shock as she saw three large plates filled with a mountain of delicious-ness come our way.

"Oh no! Rose, you'll get fat eating all of that!" I just smiled and helped myself to the chocolate lava brownie.

-x-

Returning home was quite fun. I had Dimitri carry me back to the cabin in his arms because I had overdosed on chocolate and couldn't feel my legs, let alone my growling stomach. "After that you're still hungry?" Christian was left with a black eye.

"Roza, I believe you are need of these." He tossed a translucent bottle of blue tablets to me. TUMS were going to be my saviors tonight.

We settled into our bed, and beneath the silk and velvet, I found myself remembering the last time I saw Dimitri's family. It sent chills down my spine. After spending the rest of our time after dinner roaming the Court with Dimitri, I was exhausted, but sleep would not claim me. I was left to my thoughts and as they shifted from memories of Dimitri as a Strigio and his family in Baia to something darker I was left wondering. Finally I put my thoughts into words.

"Does Christian still visit Tasha?"

I let my curiosity get the better of me, and for a moment I regretted it due to the look of pain on Dimitri's face and the tension in his body.

"Yes, he does go to her from time to time. In any normal situation, I would applaud him for being brave and looking out for his relative, but here… she tried to take you away from me Roza. That is not something I take lightly. I can never forgive her for what she attempted to do. Without you, Roza, I would be in a very dark place." I squeezed his hand tightly in mine, willing it to stay that way forever, willing there to be an invisible chain that bound us together… I lifted myself up and leaned against his strong chest. I looked into his deep brown eyes and kissed him, putting as much passion as I could. Knowing he read the hidden meaning, I pulled away and let my lips brush along his cheek.

"Dimitri, I love you more than you could ever know. I mean, hopefully you know that I love you tons, but even then I think more than that. God, you'd think I was proposing, right?" I started to laugh at myself for not being able to express my love to him, but his laughter never joined mine. I looked up at him from beneath my lashes, and from what I saw, he looked nervous as hell.

Why? Does he think he'll lose me?

I tried to dispel any thoughts of that, but before I could say anything, Dimitri's lips were on mine as he tugged me down into his warm sturdy embrace.

"Roza, I would do anything to keep you happy and safe. Please, promise me to stay by my side?"

"Of course" And with those soft words, we fell into a deep sleep, kept warm by each other's love.

**AN: RAWR! I finished and my ban is up… This is a few days old, but that's cause my laptop crashed and I almost died because I didn't think I saved it. But I did! Muahahahahahaha! Now I must go so that I can take over the world! :D See you later!**

**PS: Review? For me? Please? :D**


	4. The Belikov's Plane

**AN: Sorry, I'm trying to be focused and get this story over so that I can write for other stories. If I'm lazy, you'll hate the ending; I know that much for sure. If I do it right, you'll love the ending or be okay with it. It doesn't matter too much. :D So, let's try to get this party started! Enjoy X3**

**Chapter 4 – the Belikov's plane**

(Rose POV)

I squinted in the darkness before bolting upright. Something was off. Last night was amazing, Dimitri and were together and happy, but now? I felt empty and… awful. I moved towards Dimitri to wake him up, but when I opened my mouth I gagged. I had to hold back the sudden urge to retch. Moving quickly I got out of bed to run to the master bathroom to throw up last night's Sloppy Joe and all the chocolate. My throat burned from the acid and I gagged again from the smell. By now, Dimitri was up and he came by my side to help hold up my hair.

"Rose? What's going on?" I shook my head back and forth hoping he'd get the message that I was too busy choking on my own bile to respond. He tied my hair back and left the bathroom only to return with another bottle of TUMS and a bottle of water.

"Here, chew on the TUMS and do not brush your teeth until an hour has passed. Drink as much water as possible and please don't eat anything but the saltine crackers I left on the counter. I'm going to get Vasilisa." With that he left to go get changed. I couldn't stop the onslaught of bile though and the smell was getting to me. I flushed the toilet and went to brush my teeth, hoping he wouldn't catch me in the act. In another two minutes, he was out the door running to Court. I sat against the tub after, chewing on two TUMS and downing the water. My stomach was churning and I had a massive headache and cramp combo. It sucked, but fifteen minutes later, Lissa burst into my bedroom and found me.

"Rose! Are you alright? Adrian can you see her aura? I can't get a hold of it…" Adrian's green eyes peered into mine as his hand pressed against my forehead. I flushed, feeling sick again. I pushed past them and stumbled towards the toilet letting everything come up and out. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lissa cringe back and Adrian turn a little green himself.

"Well, Lissa, she's sick that's for sure. I don't know what else to say… Maybe she shouldn't eat for another hour, unless you want to see it again five minutes later." He grinned hoping we would laugh with him, but he only got disapproving stares from Dimitri and Lissa. A painful groan escaped my lips and I clutched my stomach tightly. It was going to be a long morning.

-x-

My head rested against the arm of the couch and I stared blankly at Dimitri's ass while he made breakfast for himself.

He silently cracked a few eggs and emptied their contents in one pan while flipping the bacon in another. Dimitri was moving as quietly as possible, full well knowing that I'd chew him out due to my massive headache. He finally looked around till he spotted me curled up on the couch.

"Roza, are you going to be okay?" I kept staring. My mouth was dry and I couldn't form the words. He looked at me alarmed. "Roza?" The feeling vanished shortly after.

"Uh, yeah; I'm fine, but I'll be even better if you sneak me some of that bacon," I joked half-heartedly. I think he caught on too… He still looked concerned, but gave me the plate of bacon. We ate in an eerie silence and during that period, the nauseous feeling crept up again and again.

-x-

(Lissa POV)

Everyone was waiting for Rose at the landing platform at the Court's private airport. Tate and Charlie were the only ones to accompany me today. The three of us made small talk while waiting for Dimitri, Christian, and Rose.

When they arrived in the little airport buggy, the plane began to release passengers. I couldn't help but notice the grin that adorned Rose's face. She told me about how much she loved Dimitri's family and how she wished she could have spent more time with them.

They all stepped out of the private jet (partially paid for by Abe) and Rose's face lit up like a kid on Christmas. I could hear her giggle a little before running over to see them. The elderly woman looked up at her and gave her a small smile that wasn't forced in any way. Then the next woman, who looked to be Dimitri's mother, took Rose's welcoming hug graciously. I could tell they were all happy because to them, this was a family reunion. The teenager, who must have been Dimitri's sister, looked rather delighted to be near Rose. With smiles all around, I shooed off Tate and Charlie turning to go to Rose and Dimitri. Christian grunted as we got closer and pulled me to a stop.

"Wait a little, let them finish up." And wait we did. We stood there for fifteen minutes waiting until the teenager looked at us and squealed.

"Oh my gosh! That's Queen Vasilisa Dragomir!" I smiled widely at her and nodded. I waved then turned my back to Christian.

"Can we go now?" I wanted very much to meet Dimitri's family because, hopefully, they would one day be Rose's family. Christian looked back at the overly exuberant teen and nodded.

"Hi, I'm Viktoria, Dimitri's youngest sister. That's my mother Olena and my grandmother, Yeva. Our two older sisters, Karoline and Sonya, couldn't make the trip, but I believe they would also be thrilled to meet you!" Viktoria's smile was contagious. We made small talk for awhile before Viktoria took her mother and grandmother towards the Guardian dorms, one of the nicer ones of course.

After all of the excitement, I proposed we enjoyed a nice dinner with the four of us at the best… Shelly's Shine'n Dine'n. I felt a little bad because I knew Rose wanted to eat Sloppy Joes with us, but couldn't due to her stomach. 

-x-

(Rose POV)

Finally arriving at the diner, my stomach growled. I was ravenous. "Explain why it took so long?" Christian grinned. "We were driving in circles just to annoy you." Ugh… the boy had a death wish I swear… He chuckled at my irritated expression and I heard him say 'Mission accomplished' under his breath. I was ready to pummel this boy….

Cassie, our overly flirty waitress, took our orders and brought our drinks and constantly flirted with Christian and Dimitri and before long she was trying to get their numbers. The boys discouraged her, but she looked extremely pathetic as she walked away from our table.

"Wow, how desperate can a woman get? I mean Dimitri might as well be a god. You, on the other hand, look like a pale toothpick with blue eyes. And Lissa? Grow a pair of balls would you? I would've ripped her limb from limb for looking at Dimitri like that!"

"But you didn't…"

"That's because Dimitri would have had to explain to the cops why I killed our waitress!"

"Okay?"

We went on like that for the rest of the night, bickering like we always did. And as the night progressed, our conversations became less entertaining and more depressing.

After talking to Christian about the 'Tasha thing', I realized that he truly did worry for her. The guards acted as if they wanted her to rot in her cell and there has not been a word of an execution… yet. Even without the bond, I knew Lissa didn't like Christian hurting like this. She hugged him and little while later he looked up from his thoughts. Dimitri must have sensed my grimness because he looked at me with very serious dark brown eyes.

"Rose…"

"Leave it. We have bigger problems. I didn't want to bring this up, but it is important." I looked over to Christian and Lissa and began again, "I was told of a string of murders that have to do with the Moroi. Jesse and Ralf were both attacked… Ralf was killed. There were a few others as well, no names that I had recognized though. All of them lead back to St. Vladimir's Academy though."

"What do you mean lead back?"

"They were all former students at St. Vladimir's. I know Lissa wanted to go check it out and so did Eddie when I ran it by him. I was wondering if you and Dimitri were also interested… I understand if you're not so –"

"We'll go." Christian's pale blue eyes sparked and I knew that he wanted in no matter the consequences. I smiled at his certainty and let my gaze fall on Lissa.

"Well, the date needs to be set. I'll deal with flight times and everyone's schedules; Lissa will double check her meetings and Eddie will confirm with everyone when we'll leave." I smiled proud of my handy work. We finished lunch and left to do our own things.

-x-

Dimitri walked me back to our cabin chatting about diner and what we needed to do before we got there. I wasn't really listening… something was bothering me and for some reason I couldn't let go of it. Guardians were failing at their job… The more I thought about it, the more it began to piss me off. I was the first of our group to hear about Ralf's death, but the emotions were still present and were beginning to turn into something other than grief.

"Who was Ralph's guardian?" Dimitri looked at me funny, probably wondering why I asked him that when he was talking about his mother's trip to America. He responded and I didn't like his answer. He didn't know who it was, but whoever it was they were resigning. In hindsight, I'd say I overreacted just a bit, but at the moment, I felt entitled to this rage.

"You have got to be kidding me! Ralph is dead and his guardian's taking an extended vacation? What the hell! These things shouldn't be happening! Ralph's guardian should have done his job! He shouldn't be out there relaxing and playing chess on the beach! More Moroi citizens are going to fall and it's because guardians' are becoming too soft! We are getting weaker and forgetting that we are to protect the Moroi at all costs! This isn't right and we need to do something about it!" My emotions were jumbled and I couldn't think straight. Tears blinded my vision as I ran away to my guardian dorm room. Throughout it all, I couldn't help but see Lissa's pale corpse crumpled and deformed, drained of her blood. A broken sob escaped my throat as the image lingered. Next to Lissa was a Strigio, lips ruby with her blood. In the back of my mind I heard Dimitri calling to me, catching up to me, but not near enough to get me. The image of Lissa's corpse, the Strigio beside her, the blood… it was enough to make me tremble from my cries… That stayed with me, even when I tried to cast it away, it came back with a force. It hurt to think about my best friend dead at the hands of something I was supposed to protect her from.

The locked door posed as a problem; and fumbling with the keys, I finally got it to open for me. Just as I was about to fling the door shut, Dimitri's foot propped the door open enough for me to see his pleading eyes. He was trying to get me to open the door, but I couldn't hear him over my bawling. I tried to slam the door on him and finally I was able to. I slid down the door and held onto myself. The cries of anguish died down and turned into hiccups and gasps of air and then into soft sniffles. Dimitri had left an hour ago and inside, I knew that things weren't really working out. I wasn't feeling well, I had emotional breakdowns; if it wasn't one thing, it was another! But, I hoped that Dimitri wouldn't get fed up with me.

The knocking on my door broke into my thoughts and I scrambled up to look through the peephole. It was Dimitri.

"Rose, please open the door."

"Guardian Belikov, if you wish to speak to me, then do so at dinner." I knew I was being a little shit, but I couldn't bear to let him see me a sniveling, sobbing mess. My eyeliner was smeared, trails of black from my mascara were dripping down my face, my nose was red, and my normally perfect hair was snarled and resembled a bird's nest. He was not seeing me like this. Ignoring his calls and pleas, I dragged myself to bed and fell into a serene sleep.

-x-

(Adrian POV)

God, Mercy was making me run! RUN! I was sweaty and tired and I could have killed someone for a drink. I was on my eleventh lap when I saw the Russian's retreating figure leave the Guardian dorms. Across the field, Mercy was solely focused on Damien, the poor fellow. I took this as my only chance to go over to Belikov. I jogged over to him and nudged him with my elbow. The man looked like he was about to break down in a heartbeat.

"What's wrong now Belikov? I thought you were going to make your move…" His broken voice responded, sounding less than impressed with himself.

"I screwed up. I took a death to lightly. I had originally thought that she was being unreasonable, but I don't know now. What if– what if we're done?" I shook my head.

"Over that? No, Rose will come around. You mean too much to her." The big Russian just nodded absently. The man was a wreck and I couldn't let Rose make a mistake and leave him, although I doubt she would….

I finally got Belikov to explain everything to me in detail and again, I reassured him.

-x-

I snuck away from Mercy and headed back to my room to get a quick dream-walk in with Rose. I pulled her in almost instantly. I hid behind a large palm tree, trying to obscure myself from her vision. She still knew I was there though.

"Adrian… get your sorry ass out here. It may have been two years, but I still know when I'm being pulled into a dream-walk." I nodded, more to myself than to her, and walked over to Rose. We were at some no name beach, but it had soft sand and crystal blue waves. Rose looked up at me through her red rimmed Ray-Banz and chuckled. I looked at the rest of her, noticing that her red bikini with black polka dots showed me a lot more than a certain Russian would've liked. I myself was wearing a white band tee with black board shorts. That's when I noticed that faceless men and women were also walking on the beach with various beach attire and accessories.

I motioned to a certain faceless man and raised an eyebrow at Rose.

"Really? Why not do this?" With a snap of my fingers, Dimitri appeared in nothing but blue board shorts and navy sandals. I watched her expression carefully and she didn't disappoint. Her eyes widened and she let out a small squeak. Her hands flew up to cover her eyes as she pleaded with me to make him go away. When the Belikov look alike disappeared, she curled up into a ball by my side and silently let the pent up tears fall freely from her eyes.

"I don't know Adrian… I've been so over emotional and I don't even know why! Dimitri's probably pissed off and I just can't help but think we might be over! Two years without any contact other than email, our connection and attraction might not be enough if I can't keep it together…" I shook my head and let my hand slide through her auburn curls. _If only you knew how much you both love each other…. I never stood a chance…_

"No, Dimitri was a complete mess. He thinks that you'll be the one to end it. At dinner, apologize to him. Let Dimitri know you love him more than anyone or anything. He'll respond, I promise you that much." She nodded her head and I let her return to her dreamless sleep. Dinner was definitely going to be interesting…

-x-

(Christian POV)

Mercy all but kicked my door in. "Do you know what happened to Rose? She hasn't answered any of my calls and I'm starting to get worried!" Lissa looked up from her laptop, "What? Where's Rose?" After their fast and very agitated conversation, they were out the door heading to Rose's dorm room in guardian housing.

I stood there watching them leave, feeling a little more than impressed. _Girls… _Looking at my watch, I realized that I had only two more hours before Mira had to make dinner. That gave me two hours to make a quick little trip to visit someone. I headed out to the feeders to fill up and then I made my way over to the Court's holding cells. They had yet transferred my aunt to the larger and much scarier prison, but only because Lissa was hesitant about how I would react. I waited at the entrance of the cells and waited till the guard allowed me admittance.

Most of the prison cells were empty, but I didn't pay too much attention to it. I was on a mission to get to my aunt before dinner. I stopped in front of cell 37. The exhausted woman who sat inside looked up and smiled genuinely at me. Her body seemed to sag and her hair hung limply in her face. She was a shell of her former self… My aunt Tasha tried to say something but it ended in a fit of coughs. As she tried to regain what was left of her voice, I wondered what would be worse, death or this.

"Christian! Oh god, how have you been? I overheard the guardians talking about the recent attack. Where was it? And how's Lissa? What about Rose?" With a small sad smile, I nodded.

"I've been good. The Court has been too good. I miss you though… I wish you didn't act so foolishly. And yes, there was an attack. It was just about everywhere… All of the people who were attacked can be traced back to St. Vladimir's though. The guardians weren't able to protect everyone… Ralph died and Jesse Zecklos was severely injured. Lissa is safely hidden on Court grounds and of course Rose is with her at all times. What about you? How do you feel?"

"Yes, yes. I'm hungry, but alive… for now. So Rose is back? Tell her I have an important message for her. It's about the attack and if anyone wants to survive the next one, she needs to know this. Tell her there is many more coming; many who will do anything to please their leader." She kept nodding to herself, muttering under her breathe, "Yes, tell Rose and she'll come. She'll come and then… she'll save lives."

I walked away from the cell letting her words sink in. _Survive the next one; the next attack?_ I almost ran into Damien, Rose and Lissa's tutor. He looked a bit frazzled and out of place…

"Hey, sorry about almost running you over there… Where are you headed? You're not going outside the Court, are you?" Damien looked nervous and slightly guilty.

"Um… uh- No… I'm not. Wait- yes I am…. I have to meet up with the some college professors. Tell Rose we'll start studying tomorrow…" I stopped him again.

"Wait, you're not coming to dinner tonight?" He looked shaken and muttered, "I really shouldn't. Honestly, I can't. I have plans." He swallowed again and left in a hurry.

He had to be lying. He had to be… I mean the guy was always calm and collected; right now, he was sweating bullets… The man could NOT lie…

I started walking back to my house.

**AN: HULA! Alright, so this was definitely not as long as it should have been, but I had to post something or else I would have exploded… I really hoped you readers enjoyed and please review! XD**


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